Davis pitches Wylie closer to state

Wylie’s Stephen Struve steps over Lubbock Cooper’s Kamron Bownds after tagging him out at second base Thursday during the seventh inning of the Region I-3A Finals in Midland. The win gives the Bulldogs a 1-0 edge in the best-of-three series.

Cory Davis hadn't pitched in almost two weeks, but he certainly didn't show any signs of rust.

The Wylie senior went the distance and allowed six hits while striking out five batters in his team's 3-1 victory Thursday night over Lubbock Cooper in Game 1 of the best-of-three Region I-3A baseball finals at Citibank Ballpark.

''It was a great game by both teams, obviously. Both teams made huge plays and got good pitching performances,'' Bulldogs coach Clay Martin said. ''I thought Cory did a great job on the mound, and we were just fortunate enough to score just enough runs to win.''

Davis, who had not pitched since leaving his start in the regional quarterfinals against Canyon with arm troubles, lived up to his ace status even though he felt he was not at his best early.

''At first it (my arm) was really tight, but as the game went on it finally loosened up and I finally decided to actually throw hard,'' Davis said. ''With the two-week break, trying to take it easy with the arm I've lost a little velocity, but I'll be OK. I've just got to get back up there.''

Davis got the job done on 86 pitches - 55 of which were strikes - and held the Pirates (27-11) to one hit over the first four innings as the second-ranked Bulldogs (32-2-1) took a 2-0 lead.

''To have Cory back on the mound was a big boost, and to see him throw so well, and one of the biggest things he did tonight was limit pitch count,'' Martin said. ''He was able to stay around the plate and keep his pitch numbers down low, and that was a big plus.''

As it has throughout the playoffs, the Wylie offense continued to get the job done with two outs.

With Landon Lindley on third after lining a triple to right-center field, Derek Saltzgaber hit a grounder to short with two away and just beat the throw to first for an RBI single in the top of the third inning.

Wylie struck again in the next frame when Josh Hilliard hit a two-out bloop single to center that popped in and out of the sliding defender's glove, scoring Michael Strong from first and giving the Bulldogs a two-run lead.

Cooper answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth. With men on first and second, Charlie Finch grounded to the right side of the infield and beat Davis to the bag, and Bryan Oxford came around to score from second base.

Davis got into more trouble when he walked the next batter to load the bases, but he got out of it when Ryan Hughes grounded out to second on the first pitch.

The Pirates threatened again in the sixth as the first two batters reached safely on singles, but Hilliard came up with a big double play from third base and Davis induced the next batter to fly out.

Wylie added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Greg Johnson hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to score Mason Macnoll, who went 3-for-4 from the plate with a double.

Cooper sent the winning run to the batter's box with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and runners on first and second, but shortstop Michael Strong charged a grounder hit by Hughes and made a good play to throw him out at first and end a game in which the Bulldogs played error-free ball.

''Its very reassuring when you're a pitcher because even when you're not throwing your best and they're hitting the ball like they were today, defense helps a lot and gets you through,'' Davis said.

Game 2 of the series is slated to begin at 2 p.m. today, also at Citibank Ballpark, with Game 3 coming 30 minutes after its conclusion should Cooper come out on top.

In order to advance to next week's state tournament in Round Rock, the Bulldogs know they will need another performance like on Thursday, if not better.

''We knew going in it's a series. It's not about one game,'' Martin said. ''We've won and put ourselves in a good spot, but it's a series and you've got to win two.''